In-vitro Raman micro-spectroscopy was used for diagnostics of the processes of uptake and biodegradation of porous silicon nanoparticles
(SiNPs) in breast cancer cells (MCF-7 cell line). Two types of nanoparticles, with andwithout photoluminescence in the visible spectral range,were
investigated. The spatial distribution of photoluminescent SiNPs within the cells obtained by Raman imaging was verified by high-resolution
structured-illumination optical microscopy. Nearly complete biodegradation of SiNPs inside the living cells was observed after 13 days of the
incubation. The results reveal new prospects of multi-modal visualization of SiNPs inside cancer cells for theranostic applications.
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